Gavin and Stacey has always been a sitcom I have found interesting. While I don’t consider myself a real Gavin and Stacey fan, I do think the show is fairly amusing, with good characters, and a solid premise behind it. The real draw for me, however, is the story of two men touted as the next great British double-act, whose careers went drastically different ways. It’s the story of a show that was never really about its main characters. It’s the story of one of the most popular sitcoms in British history.
Gavin and Stacey tells the story of Gavin Shipman and Stacey West, a couple who meet over the phone while working. The pair meet up with their best friends, Smithy and Nessa and the rest of the series follows their relationship and the interactions between their families; Gavin’s parents Mick and Pamela, and Stacey’s mother Gwen and Uncle Bryn.
To say the show was a success would be an understatement. Initially airing on BBC Three, the reception to Gavin and Stacey was so great that it was eventually moved to the mainstream BBC One. Gavin and Stacey was the most nominated show of the British comedy awards that year, winning three, in addition to two BAFTAs (one of which was an audience choice award) and received solid ratings. In time, the show would quickly become a highly regarded and beloved sitcom, with a 2019 Radio Times poll naming it as the nation’s 17th favorite sitcom.
As to my own views, I don’t share the same love for Gavin and Stacey that most of the country has. The idea behind it is a solid one; a long-distance couple meet for the first time and the series charts their relationship as well as that of their families. It would work as well in 1977 as it did in 2007, it is really as solid a sitcom premise as it is possible to get. The cast has some standouts; Rob Brydon and Alison Steadman are both great and almost all the characters are likeable and memorable. On the whole though, I find the show warm rather than funny. Gavin is a dull character and Matthew Horne is not the strongest of actors. Stacey’s mother, Gwen, falls down the cracks and it almost seems like the writers don’t have any interest in doing anything with her character. While Smithy, as we shall see later, is a fan favourite, I cannot stand him. He’s selfish and immature, treats the mother of his child like shit, and acts like an all-round prick.
It is very interesting to note, however, that Gavin and Stacey are neither the main focus nor the most popular characters. Series one ends with Gavin and Stacey’s wedding but series 2 ends with Nessa giving birth to Smithy’s child, the 2009 Christmas Special is split between Gavin moving to Wales and Nessa getting engaged to Dave Coaches, series 3 ends with Nessa and Dave’s wedding, and the 2019 Christmas special ends with Nessa proposing to Smithy. Nessa and Smithy become the main focus, writers James Corden and Ruth Jones (who, incidentally, play Smithy and Nessa), describe Gavin and Stacey as “The glue that holds the show together”. This is their purpose, they are not the main characters, merely a device to allow for more interesting characters to interact. It is telling that, of all the surveys and online lists of favorite British sitcom characters, rarely are Gavin or Stacey featured. All the other characters, and even side characters, feature (with the exception of Stacey’s mother Gwen), but not the two title characters.
Sitcoms are somewhat unusual in that their main characters are usually fan favourites, in contrast to other genres of fiction, where the protagonists are usually surpassed by a side character. For example, nobodies’ favourite character in the Harry Potter franchise is Harry Potter, nobody’s favourite Star Wars character is Luke Skywalker. Compare this with characters like Del Boy and Fletcher who are probably the most popular characters from Only Fools and Horses and Porridge. I suspect a very large part of this is James Corden’s ego and simple inability to deny the opportunity to give himself a bigger part. It also doesn’t help that Gavin and Stacey are not particularly interesting characters, and their actors, Matthew Horne and Joanna Page, are completely outshone by more talented, seasoned colleagues.
With this in mind, lets now move onto the next interesting behind the scenes feature of Gavin and Stacey; the relationship between Matthew Horne and James Corden. When Gavin and Stacey premiered, audiences identified and championed the friendship between Smithy and Gavin, and it was a friendship that mimicked that of the actors of screen. Such was the public affection for this relationship, that Horne and Corden were considered the next great British double act, with comparisons being drawn to Morcombe and Wise. After Gavin and Stacey’s first run concluded in 2010, James Corden and Matthew Horne worked on a number of other projects with three being of real note here.
The first was a sketch show; Horne and Corden which received thoroughly negative reception. The general feeling was that the show was horribly unfunny and that the pair’s immense success with Gavin and Stacey had gone to their heads and left them with a view that anything they touched would be successful. While Horne and Corden received higher ratings than almost all other shows on digital channels, they were disappointing and largely continued on a downward trajectory. In 2010, James Corden admitted the sketch show was a mistake.
The second notable project the pair worked on was a film, Lesbian Vampire Killers which was released in 2009. Lesbian Vampire Killers was very poorly reviewed, with critics claiming that they had ‘overstretched their appeal’. The third project the pair worked on was the 2009 Brit Awards, again the duo’s performances were not well-received.
Things, however, began to change in 2010. James Corden was in a popular episode of Doctor Who and would return as the same character a year later. Corden was also in a popular Comic Relief sketch with the England football team as the character Smithy, began hosting the Sky 1 sports quiz A League of their Own, and performed an England World Cup single with Dizzee Rascal. Horne, meanwhile, was in an episode of Miss Marple and played a supporting role in the BBC docudrama about the life of Boy George.
2011 was the real turning point though. Horne played the father in the Horrid Henry movie, while James Corden had a huge hit with his lead role in the stage play adaptation of One Man Two Guvnors, a performance which received rave reviews and earned him a Tony award. One Man Two Guvnors’ success would open up new doors for Corden. He produced a series of viral Carpool Karaoke videos on YouTube and, in 2015, became the host of the US talk show, The Late, Late Show. Horne, meanwhile, faded into practical obscurity.
This brings us up to the Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special in 2019. Since its first finale in 2010, there had been a huge amount of speculation about the show’s return, Corden and Jones alluded to maybe bringing the show back for some time but with Corden’s schedule it wasn’t easy. The Christmas Special was very well reviewed and was the most watched scripted show of the decade. The fact is though, that the Christmas Special’s focus was Smithy and Nessa, not Gavin and Stacey. The title character’s plot is wrapped up neatly by the mid-point of the episode and the cliffhanger is focused around Nessa proposing to Smithy. Once more, Matthew Horne takes a backseat in the show ostensibly focused his character.
In the immediate aftermath of the special airing, people began to wonder whether the show would return for a full series. I think the answer is yes. Everyone involved has a vested interest in bringing the show back. For the majority of the cast, this is the most successful thing they will ever be a part of. Horne needs the work, Corden likes having his ego stroked, and the BBC will want to see their surefire ratings hit return. The end is so open that it seems inevitable the show will return and that Corden and Jones have a desire to bring it back at some point in the future. There was no need to end the Christmas special on that note, the episode could have been neatly wrapped up and left things in much the same place as 2010. Instead, it ended with a cliffhanger between two of the most popular sitcom characters in British history. Despite their protests, James Corden and Ruth Jones have either signaled clearly that they are very interested, or they set up a major storyline solely for the purpose of increasing ratings with no intention of following through. If this is true then their contempt for their audience is unparalleled.
That’s the tragedy of Gavin and Stacey. Matthew Horne was heralded as part of the next great double-act, he was one of the leads in one of the most popular British sitcoms of the early 21st century, he had everything going for him and it fell apart almost immediately. However, even the slightest analysis of the events shows that it was never going to happen for him. Corden was always the star of Gavin and Stacey, Horne was only ever a supporting character. James Corden briefly touched on the collapse of his friendship with Matthew Horne when he appeared on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2011, saying only how sad it was. I think there’s more to it though. I bet Corden, who has a reputation for arrogance, couldn’t help but rub it in a little. I’m sure it can’t have been easy for Horne. Corden probably just stopped talking to him and moved on to bigger and brighter things while Horne was left to wonder about what might have been. His only hope now is that Gavin and Stacey returns and he is once again allowed to play second fiddle to James Corden.
Boldfield25
Those Guys That Review Stuff 